25 Plans set in motion
1696 Words
“Alright, Charlie do you have everything ready?” Max asked with his nerves clearly starting to show.
“Yes, I have everything in the booth ready. With the money, you guys saved up we were able to get a working prototype. I’ve also set up the touch screen onto it so the headmaster can try it out herself.”
“What about the speech?”
“Give me a little credit Max, I’ve been doing these kinds of contests for years!”
“Right, sorry, I’m just a little nervous,” Max said, taking deep breaths to keep his cool. “We can leave the president to you?”
“Yeah! Leave her to me! I’ll make sure she won’t be able to look at any other offer from any other company. Meanwhile, you have your own job to do. Be sure to get it done, alright?”
“I got this!” Max said as he bumped fists with Charlie.
Charlie walked back into the showcase hall. As the doors closed, Max and Trae could see Lina standing by Charlie’s booth. She saw them and gave them an enthusiastic wave. Max waved back as his eyes wandered looking for Jules. He saw her standing next to her father, Carlisle, who drew in a large crowd, some of which were his and Jules’ bodyguards. They both waved as well. After waving back, Trae and Max took advantage of the small break that was provided by the school due to the contest. It was lucky for them, because the main issue now, was getting this business to be legitimate.
Trae and Max walked off of campus to obtain the proper licensing for their company, XeMillion and Co.
“Today is gonna be tough, but we gotta make sure that we get as much as we can in terms of the paperwork. We gotta get the license, the trademark, and we gotta settle the legal structure of our company as well,” Max said.
“All that s**t just goes over my head, Max… I think I’m just gonna trust your gut on this one!” Trae said with a carefree smile.
Max elbowed him in the stomach in a joking manner.
“Whatever happens, we gotta make sure we get this done so that we can get our first big pool of capital. Then the real fun begins,” Max said, genuinely excited.
“Max, what is that smile? It’s almost as if you ain’t lookin’ for the Wolfpack no more!” Trae said as he continued his carefree pace, not noticing that Max had stopped as soon as Trae said that.
Suddenly, some old thoughts came back to him, as he wondered if he was really doing the right thing. But as he thought about it, he remembered that time was of the essence and that he needed to gather all the paperwork necessary for their business to become a real business. The two stormed off at a breakneck pace towards the License Center, knowing that back at school, their colleagues were fighting their own battle as well.
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Charlie was able to finish the contest without a hitch and as expected, was able to win with flying colors. All of the other contestants looked on in admiration and envy as he was awarded the first-place medal. With the kind of technology they came in with, it was impossible for them to have lost. The President of the School, Emilia Karnstein, listened to what Charlie had to say, with the help of Lina. At first, she seemed a little skeptical about the idea of students providing the school with a service but changed her mind after speaking with Carlisle Thompson. Of course, being one of the richest people in New York, Emilia held his word at incredibly high regard. Soon enough, her skepticism was put to rest, and she agreed to have Charlie install the new POS system across the campus in different areas. Carlisle promised Jules that if everything went well with the POS system they developed for the school, he would consider investing in the company as well, provided that they install the same system for his company headquarters.
Meanwhile, Max and Trae were able to obtain all the documents needed to legitimize their company within the week. Everything was in order, from the licensing to the trademark. Officially, they were ready to take on their first big transaction with Emilia Karnstein.
The documents were signed and with the money that they were given as a downpayment, they were able to hire an able crew to have the system running throughout the school. From then on, they would have a steady source of passive income from the school. It was not long before Carlisle followed on his promise. Not even a month after that transaction, Carlisle Thompson was able to reach out through Jules and requested they create their own contract for that same POS system to be installed into Thompson Motors Inc. HQ. Soon enough, Max’s company was gaining more traction than he could ever imagine. With the lineup of their members, they would be unstoppable.
With that, all they had left for the year was to enjoy their Christmas break. Little did they know that
life may have had other ideas in mind.
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Jasper Locke walked through the halls of his mansion, which was absolutely massive for the time. It was built with Roman-inspired architecture as the main facade of the mansions was built with impressive, tall, white pillars. The interior was covered with red and gold, giving it a sense of royalty. All of his furniture was laced with gold finishing, and his carpets were the most intricate mosaics that were handcrafted by masters.
He walked with a brisk speed, as he lit a cigar. He headed towards the room at the end of the hallway which was blocked off by two large imposing doors. By the doors waited for two butlers, who jumped to attention the second they caught sight of Jasper. Without missing a beat, the two opened the massive doors for him, revealing a long round table in the shape of an oval, with several people sitting in the seats. As he took another drag, the doors closed behind him, dimming the room quite a bit.
He looked over the figures that were sitting in the chairs until he could finally make out who they were. Three figures at the far end of the table stood up as he entered the room. So did the woman sitting in a chair close to the middle of the length of the table.
“It’s good to see you again, Jasper,” said the woman, who crossed her legs impatiently.
“Good of you to finally show up, you old hag,” said Jasper.
“Are you certain that it is ok that you speak to me, Emily Banner, like that?”
“What are you gonna do? Sic your Wolfpack on me?”
“Careful, I just might,” she said, with hostility growing in her voice.
“Why don’t you go read one of your books and look up the meaning of a joke?” Jasper said as he sat down in a lackadaisical manner.
“Why you-”
“Enough Ms. Banner,” the man at the end of the table said. “Understand that your precious Wolfpack was gifted to you by none other than myself. Should you go against us Lockes, there will be hell to pay,”
Emily immediately clammed up and forced an apology, not to Jasper, but to that man.
“I apologize Mr. Locke...”
He let out a small exhale, which could be interpreted as a laugh.
“Good girl,” he said.
He then directed his attention back to Jasper.
“As for you Jasper… remember your manners. You’re a Locke, and it’s been long overdue that you start acting like one,” the man known as Mr. Locke said.
“Yes siiir~” Jasper said in a condescending tone.
The man at the end of the table shook his head. With the snap of his fingers, men hidden in the shadows emerged and pointed high caliber assault rifles right at Jasper. He looked on as the sweat started to form on his brow, out of nerves. He looked down the barrels of at least twenty guns, not including the ones that were pointed at him from behind.
“I don’t know if you can hear me from all the way over there,” the man said, extending his harm towards Jasper, who was at the other end of the table. “But I know you aren’t def, boy.”
He snapped again and within seconds, the man’s cohorts pulled out a comically large cooler, which was splattered with blood.
“You should know better than to test me, boy. I thought you knew this. What happened to the cute obedient little fart that’d run around this mansion. The one who’d listen to my stories. The one who’d join me for dinner… It breaks my old little heart,” he said, beginning to laugh at his own sarcasm. “Your brothers and sisters were obedient too… until they weren’t. And well, I don’t have a use for disobedient kids now do I?”
The man’s cohorts opened the crate and revealed a cooler filled with ice. The water was stained with a very dark red. However, that was not what Jasper was focused on. He looked at the contents of the crate as if he was trying to prevent himself from vomiting, either from nerves or from fear. Every time a scene like this happened, he was forced to look at the severed heads of his brothers and sisters, who were all stuffed into this large cooler. At this point, looking at this scene was not new anymore to Jasper, but it would never fail to give him an unsettling feeling. He gulped as his eyes raised back to the man at the end of the table.
“Are you still going to be a disobedient boy?”
He gripped his knees, as he tried to keep his composure. With a deep exhale, he made sure to look at his superior respectfully.
“No...”
“No what?”
“No… sir.”
The man showed his teeth for the first time since the meeting had started, and started to laugh maniacally. The two men beside him began laughing as well, as they filled the room with their demonic shrieks. It was this point that Locke decided to take another hit from his cigar. Unfortunately for him, it had burnt out.
- Writer
